LANGLEY, British Columbia – The two top teams in the country matched up Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C., with the No. 2 Trinity Western Spartans hosting the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds. The match-up did not disappoint, as the Spartans prevailed 3-2 in a two-hour, 30-minute match to remain unbeaten at 7-0. The 29-27, 25-21, 18-25, 22-25, 15-13 loss drops the Thunderbirds to 6-1 in conference play.
 
Fourth-year outside Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) with 18 kills, four digs, and three blocks, fifth-year middle Cory Schoenherr (Waterloo, Ont.) with 12 kills, two errors, and eight blocks, and fifth-year middle Jackson Corneil (Surrey, B.C.) with nine kills, five digs, and three blocks led the Spartans. Gavin Moes with 19 kills, seven digs, and three blocks, Dawson Pratt with 12 kills, seven digs, and four blocks, and Reeve Gingera with 10 kills, five digs, and two aces led the Thunderbirds.
 
Fifth-year setter Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany), with 43 set assists, four service, five digs, and three blocks, led the Spartans' attack, while Mason Greves led the Thunderbirds with 49 assists and seven digs.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish the home-and-home series next week at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver, BC. Match time on Friday, November 21 is set for 5:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans and Thunderbirds matched each other point-for-point in the opening set. UBC looked to be in control late with a three-point lead, 21-18. But after a TWU timeout, the Spartans rallied to take a one-point lead, 22-21, after a Schmidt kill. From there, it was sideout ball. With the set tied at 27-27, TWU took the final two points off a Schmidt kill and a UBC attack error to give the Spartans the opening set 29-27, and a 1-0 set lead. TWU hit at .243 (16-7-37), while UBC hit at .161 (12-7-31).
 
The second set was a game of runs. TWU took the early 7-3 lead, but UBC responded after a timeout to take a 14-11 lead and put the Spartans into a timeout. TWU came out of the break and tied the set up at 17-17, where UBC took their second timeout. The Spartans continued to roll out of the timeout, and after a Schmidt ace, led 21-18. The Spartans carried the lead to set point, where Kyden Dmitruk got a net tape ace to give TWU the second set 25-21. TWU hit at .161 (14-9-31), while UBC hit at .154 (10-6-26).
 
The two teams were even to open the third set, then with the teams tied at 9-9, the Thunderbirds got a three-point lead with a Gavin Moes kill and back-to-back TWU errors putting UBC up 12-9. The Spartans took a timeout and came back to within one point, 13-12, after a Rein service ace. UBC then went on another run and, after an Alex Emery kill, led 17-13, with TWU taking their second timeout. The Thunderbirds carried their momentum out of the break to take the third set 25-18 and trail 2-1 in sets. TWU hit at .042 (8-7-24), while UBC hit at .571 (14-2-21).
 
The fourth set was again evenly matched, with TWU holding the early lead, 12-10. As the set progressed, UBC got control and used a 9-4 run to take a 19-16 lead after a Gavin Moes kill. TWU responded through the middle as Schoenherr brought the Spartans to within one point, 19-18, with a middle attack. After exchanging points, UBC took the rally of the match with a Mason Greves kill to take a three-point lead, 23-20. The teams traded points to give the Thunderbirds set point at 24-21. Schmidt held off one set point, with a cross-court kill, but Gavin Moes followed up for UBC to give the set to the Thunderbirds 25-22 and tie the match at 2-2. TWU hit at .250 (11-4-28), while UBC hit at .391 (12-3-23).
 
The Spartans were the better team early in the final set. With TWU leading 5-3, the Spartans took three of the next four points, and after a Schoenherr service ace, led 8-4 at the changeover. A Jackson Corniel kill gave TWU a five-point lead, 9-4, and had UBC calling a timeout. The Thunderbirds came out of the break and took the following three points to pull to within two points, trailing 9-7 after a Gingera kill and two TWU attack errors. After a TWU timeout, UBC made it a one-point game, 9-8, with a Moes kill. The Spartans responded, using kills from Liam Remple and Dmitruk to lead 11-8. Again, UBC came back, and a TWU attack error and a UBC block made it a one-point game, 12-11 for the Spartans. Schmidt got the Spartans their two-point lead back, 13-11. But kills from UBC's Dawson Pratt and a Thunderbird block tied the set at 13-13. A serving error by the Thunderbirds gave TWU match point at 14-13. The Spartans Schmidt ended the marathon match with a kill off the block to give the Spartans the set 15-13 and the match 3-2.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night hitting at .161 (57-34-143), while the Thunderbirds finished at .300 (55-19-120).
• Spartans had the edge in blocks 10-9 and service aces 10-3. Both teams finished with 37 digs.
• Last week, the Spartans swept the Calgary Dinos, winning 3-0 and 3-1 at home at the Langley Events Centre.
• The Thunderbirds swept the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack last week in Kamloops, B.C. Winning 3-0 on both nights at the Tournament Capital Centre.
• TWU is currently 64-29 lifetime against the UBC Thunderbirds. Last year in conference play, the Spartans split the two games with the Thunderbirds winning 3-0 in Langley, B.C., and losing 3-1 in Vancouver, B.C.
• Earlier this season, the Spartans lost to the Thunderbirds 3-0 in preseason play on October 2 in Vancouver, B.C.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country and as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 33 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  
 
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